News Director 
Column By: ROBERT SYMONDS / RPW – MAQUOKETA, IA – The World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Models filled the pit area at the Maquoketa Speedway for a two-day event, ending with the Hawkeye 100 on Saturday evening.
Rookie of the Year contender, Cody Overton, had some difficulty during the opening night. Overton was quick out of the gate, turning a 14.061 in qualifying and becoming the fastest driver overall.
Leading through most of the way through the heat, Overton looked strong however ended up finishing 7th in his heat race and translated to a 17th place finish in the 40 lap opener.
Overton took some notes and tried again Saturday night for the Hawkeye 100. The Tri Star Promotions, Mahle 97 looked strong once again in Qualifying turning an 8th overall quick time. In heat race action, Cody was able to take the lead over Max McLaughlin on lap 4 and never looked back as he bested his Rookie of the Year contender by .7 seconds at the line.
This finish put Cody Overton in a good redraw spot which he ended up redrawing the pole.
Overton led the field to the green flag of the Hawkeye 100 and had immediately went to work as both Brandon Sheppard and Brian Shirley were in hot pursuit. Searching for his first win of the season, Cody ran the bottom side of the speedway which ultimately ended up being the fastest line on the track at the time.
Overton led the opening 7 laps but Shirley ran the bottom off of turn 4 which gave Shirley the advantage on lap 8. Overton kept within close distance of Shirley and was determined not to let him get away. However a fast charging Bobby Pierce ended up taking second spot away on lap 9 on the top side of the speedway.
On a lap 20 restart for a slowing Ryan Gustin, Sheppard ended up sliding Overton to take 3rd.
Keeping the top 3 in his sights, Overton remained strong but would ultimately find himself finishing 6th after both Chris Simpson and a hard charging Ryan Gustin got by on late race restarts. The top ten finish for Overton was welcomed after a string of bad luck had struck the Evans, Georgia driver. His fight for the Rookie Of The Year remains strong as well.
Overton currently sits 12th in overall World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Models point standings for the 2024 Season with only a handful of events to go.
